Happy Columbus Day to everyone in the States! Ostensibly on this day, we celebrate Christopher Columbus and his discovery of America. And no, I don’t want to quibble about the Indians who were already here or Amerigo Vespucci or Leif Erikson, for that matter.

After all, it’s far too lovely a weekend to argue and frankly the snow and ice will be here before you know it, solet’s get out there and enjoy it, people!

In a nutshell, that’s the sentiment permeating the whole Columbus Day weekend: carpe diem.

If Memorial Day launches summertime’s festivities and Labor Day marks their end, then Columbus Day is Summer’s big ol’ After-Party. The sunlight is rich and golden, even if there’s noticeably less light each day. The trees show off their colorful kaleidoscope, until a sudden breeze lifts away those leaves, dropping them to the ground. It’s a great party and no one wants to say goodbye, but all of it is tinged with a sense of ending.

This weekend, it seems to me, is the absolute best of Autumn, and we find all sorts of ways to seize the day around here, including:

1. The Chicago Marathon. The 36th running of the marathon was yesterday, and I know a couple people who participated. As the mom of a new cross-country runner, I can only guess what kind of euphoria (aka, the “runner’s high”) you might achieve from finishing a 26.2-mile race; I can also only speculate on how much ice one would need afterwards. For me, just walking that far would make me too sore to move for days on end.

2. It’s apple-picking, pumpkin-carving, cider-drinking, hayride-taking, corn-maze-wandering time. It’s been the perfect weekend to do some of those quintessential fall activities — and I’m not talking about raking leaves. That’s for next weekend. As for today… bring on an Oktoberfest or two.

3. Last call for shorts and sandals. Every day, I debate with my sons about whether it is too cold for them to wear shorts. And it’s tricky to determine the cut-off temperature: is anything below 68 degrees out-of-bounds or could we push it to 63 if it’s really, really sunny with no wind? Where does a mom draw the line?

Well, I’m calling it. This is the last weekend for shorts. It’s time to transition before everyone catches pneumonia. I know it’s hard — I wore sandals last week because it was unseasonably warm, but honestly, I felt a little weird about it. No one is going to expire of heat exhaustion because they had to wear jeans when it was 64 degrees outside.

So let’s just enjoy one of the last gorgeous weekends of the fall. Seize the cider and tromp through the leaves — while wearing shorts, of course.

Did you enjoy any fall festivities this weekend? And do you have a cut-off point for wearing shorts or sandals?

10 Responses to Seize the Columbus Day weekend

Sadly, I’ve had to work all weekend. However, a friend told me that he celebrates Columbus Day by binge-watching Columbo. While that made me smile, I have a feeling the items on your list will remain more popular.

This was Thanksgiving weekend in Canada, and we had gorgeous fall weather for three days. Lots of visiting with family, eating turkey and admiring the changing leaves…while wearing shorts! Around here, there is no cut-off date for shorts. If there’s no snow on the ground, they’re fair fashion game!

Hope you had a lovely Thanksgiving, Jen! I’m being a wee bit facetious about the cut-off date for shorts — my oldest runs cross country so he’s definitely still in shorts. As long as no one gets sick, I’m fine — it’s the constant debate about “is it too cold to wear them?” that makes me crazy. 🙂

I know what you mean! It’s funny: I lived in Colorado for awhile (just after college) and everyone there wore shorts and sweatshirts all the time. Even in winter, even with snow on the ground. With the altitude, the sun seemed so much warmer. But now, I keep thinking, “Shouldn’t they be cold? I’m cold!” Must be something about the internal furnace of kids… 🙂

I don’t know where Jen lives in Canada but I totally agreed with everything she said. After making a big turkey dinner, turkey soup and turkey tetrazzini I was able to work in the garden all afternoon on Monday… in shorts. The weather was gorgeous. But wait there is a bit of snow forecast for tomorrow morning. Winter is teasing us a little bit. As always, love your posts. Keep up the delightful blogging! ~Thea

Good grief, Thea, did it snow already up by you? I have to confess, I’m so not ready for that yet. I like the change of seasons as much as the next person, but I do hate leapfrogging right to the cold weather!

Have you posted your “after the turkey dinner” recipes? I’ll have to check. I love turkey so much that we try to cook a few of them over the winter, and I’d love to try your turkey tetrazzini recipe.

The snow that came down was just a little squall so nothing stuck… yet. The grass is still green and the leaves have turned and are starting to fall. Time to get the rake out and start raking. Sorry, I didn’t plan on blogging about the turkey tetrazzini at this time. Although, it was quite tasty. I can maybe plan to share the recipe as part of the Christmas turkey leftovers! Take Care, Thea